The Benefits of Making
Light Offerings
It is said in the Ten Wheel Sutra of the Essence of Earth (Kshitigarbha): "All
comfort, happiness and peace in this world are received by making offerings
to the Rare Sublime Ones (the Triple Gem), therefore those who like to have
comfort, happiness and peace always attempt to make offerings to the Rare Sublime
Ones."
In general, all the collections of goodness of samsara and nirvana are the result
of having made offerings to the Triple Gem. In particular, one receives different
benefits by doing service with each of the various individual offerings. Buddha,
the Fourth Guide, whose holy mind is enriched with the ten powers, announced
in the "Tune of Brahma" Sutra Clarifying Karma that there are ten
benefits of making light offerings:
1. One becomes like the light in the world.
2. One achieves the clairvoyance of the pure flesh eye [as a human].
3. One achieves the devas' eye.
4. One receives the wisdom of knowing what is virtue and what is non-virtue.
5. One is able to eliminate the darkness of ignorance, the concept of inherent
existence.
6. One receives the illumination of wisdom, even in samsara one never experiences
darkness.
7. One receives great enjoyment wealth.
8. One is reborn in the deva or human realms.
9. One quickly becomes liberated.
10. One quickly attains enlightenment.
Those devas or humans who accumulate the merit of making one light offering,
or just a handful of flowers, will see the fully enlightened Buddha Maitreya.
It is said in the Sutra of Arya Maitreya: "Those who offer 1,000 lights,
or 1,000 blue utpali flowers, or who make the pinnacle of a stupa, who make
the holy form, will be reborn when Maitreya Buddha shows the deed of gaining
enlightenment and receive his first Dharma Teaching." It is also said that
even those who offer one flower, or who rejoice at the merit of others who offer,
will achieve this Buddhahood. This means that even if one doesn't get enlightened
during Shakyamuni's teaching, then during Maitreya Buddha's teaching one's mind
will get ripened and liberated.
Offering light, in particular, is a special door of dependent arising to quickly
complete the accumulation of merit and receive blessings. It is said in the
Second Chapter of the Root Tantra of Chakrasamvara (who is the manifestation
of Shakyamuni Buddha, "If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds
of lights".
If one wishes to know in detail the results of making offerings to the holy
objects or doing service to the Buddha and the holy objects, one should study
the Sutra of the Compassionate-Eye Looking One (Avalokiteshvara), or the Sutra
of Sang Gyal (i.e., the Sutra in which Buddha gave instruction to King Sang
Gyal), or Konchog Thala. It says in the text, Immortal Drum Sound Mantra: "If
one devotes to the Inconceivable One, then the result is also inconceivable".
Similarly, it is said in the Sutra of the Compassionate-Eye Looking One: "Since
the dharmas (i.e. qualities) of the Buddha Gone As It Is (Skt.Tathagatha) are
limitless, making offering to the One Gone As It Is has limitless, infinite,
inconceivable, incomparable, unimaginable and numberless benefits."
It says in the Sutra, The Small Quotation (Tib. lung ten tsek): "It is
possible for the moon and stars to fall down to the earth, for the mountains
and forests to rise up into the sky, and for the water in the great oceans to
completely dry up, but it is not possible for the Great Sage (i.e. Buddha) to
tell a lie." Keep this in your mind. Generate strong devotion and faith
in the root of all happiness and goodness: actions and their results and the
blessings of the Three Precious Rare Sublime Ones. Having this body and possessions,
which are as though borrowed for a year, a month, or a few days, one should
attend day and night, all the time, to the practice of taking the essence of
this human life, which is of short duration like a lightning flash, by planting
seeds as much as possible in the special Merit Field.
The actual PRACTICE: How
to Make Light Offerings
Setting a good motivation before lighting the candles generate bodhicitta. Think:
"The purpose of my life is not only to obtain happiness and solve problems
for myself, but to free each being from problems and lead them to happiness,
especially to the state of full enlightenment. Therefore, I must achieve complete
enlightenment. To do this, I must complete the two accumulations, the merit
of fortune (method) and the merit of wisdom. Therefore, I am going to make charity
with the light offerings and make offering to the Merit Field."
Also remember to motivate for the success of particular projects, for people
who have passed away or who are sick, or for other particular purposes.
Reciting OM AH HUNG
As soon as you light the candles, or turn on the electricity, bless them by
reciting om ah hung three times. If you don't immediately bless them, the spirit
possession called Tsu Peu Chikpa enters into the offering and then , if you
offer that light, it becomes an obstacle, it causes mental damage. In this case,
it causes you to fall asleep without control when doing listening, reflection
and meditation practices on the holy dharma. One should understand that it is
the same thing with all the rest of the offerings, if one doesn't bless them
there are different spirit possessions that enter into them and then the offering
damages the mind and causes obstacles.
Making Charity to the Beings of the Six Realms
Think that these offerings
have been received due to the kindness of sentient beings. Think, "These
are not mine."
Make charity to all the hell beings, preta beings, animals, humans, suras and
asuras. We make charity of the offerings in order to oppose the thought of the
light offerings belonging to us. Think that we and all other beings are together
going to make offerings to the Buddha. Generate happiness at having accumulated
infinite merit by thinking in this way.
Blessing the Offerings
Now bless the offering substances by reciting the mantra that allows each Buddha
to receive inconceivable offerings, and by expressing the Power of the Truth:
Offering Prayer
I actually perform and mentally transform the offering substances of human beings
and devas. May the whole sky be pervaded by Samanthabhadra clouds of offerings.
Mantra to Increase the
Offerings
om namo bhagavate - bendze sarwaparma dana tathagataya -
arhate samyaksam buddhaya - tayata - om mendze bendze maha
bendze maha tadza bendze - maha bidya bendze maha bodhicitta bendze -
maha bodhi mendo pasam kramana bendze -
sarwa karma awarana bisho dana bendze soha (3X)
Power of the Truth
By the power of the truth of the Three Rare Sublime Ones, the blessings of all
the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the great richness of having completed the two
merits, and the inconceivable pure sphere of existence (the emptiness of existence),
may it become only like that.
Making the Offerings
We make offering to all the holy objects, by visualizing that they are manifestations
of our own root guru who is one with all other virtuous friends. Since the virtuous
friend is the most powerful object in the Merit Field, offering in this way
one accumulates the most extensive merit. It is said by the Savior Nagarjuna
in the text of the Five Stages:
"Abandon making other offerings, purely attempt offering to the guru. By
pleasing the guru, one will achieve the sublime wisdom omniscient mind."
It is said by Guru Vajradhara in the Root Tantra text Buddhaya: "One pore
of the spiritual master is more sublime than all the merit accumulated by offering
to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions."
First, we offer to all the holy objects in our own room or temple by visualizing
that these are manifestations of our own root guru who is one with all other
virtuous friends.
Then, we make offering to all the holy objects in this country, thinking of
them as manifestations of one's own virtuous friends. Then, we make offering
to all the holy objects in India: principally Bodh Gaya Stupa, where the Buddha
showed the holy deed of enlightenment, then all the rest of the holy objects
(by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend).
We make offering to all the holy objects in Tibet: in particular, the holy statue
that Buddha himself blessed, then all the rest of the holy objects, by thinking
of them as one's own virtuous friend.
Then, we offer to all the holy objects in Nepal: principally the most holy precious
object, the great holy stupa at Boudhnath, then all the rest of the holy objects
by thinking of them as the virtuous friend. Then, we offer to all the holy objects
in all the remaining Buddhist countries by thinking of them as one's own virtuous
friend.
We offer to all the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha of the ten directions by thinking
of them as one's own virtuous friend.
We offer to all the holy objects of the ten directions: statues, stupas, scriptures,
etc. by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend. There is also a special
way of making light offerings according to highest secret mantra. In this way,
great bliss is generated in all the holy minds.
The Actual Light Offering
Prayer
Then recite the actual prayer of the light offerings five, 10 or 1,000 times,
etc., depending on how many times one wishes to make the light offerings:
Light Offering Prayer
These actually performed and mentally performed light offerings, the manifestations
of one's own innate awareness, Dharmakaya, these clouds of offerings equalling
the infinite sky, I am offering to all the gurus and Three Sublime Ones, and
to the statues, stupas and scriptures, which are the guru. We have accumulated
infinite merit by having generated bodhicitta, by having made charity to the
sentient beings, and by making the actual light offerings to the gurus, Triple
Gem and holy objects of the ten directions.
Due to this merit, may whoever I promised to pray for and whoever prays to me,
whose name I have received to pray for--principally servants, benefactors and
disciples, then all the remainder migrator beings living and dead--may the rays
of the light of the five wisdoms completely purify all their degenerate vows
of samaya right now.
May all the sufferings of the evil gone realms be ceased right now.
May all the three realms of samsara be empty right now.
May all the impure minds and their obscurations be purified.
May all impure appearances be purified.
May the five holy bodies and wisdom spontaneously arise.
(Repeat as many times as you wish to offer the lights)
Special Mantra to Increase
the Merit One Hundred Thousand Times
chom den de de zhin shek pa dra chom pa yang dak pa
dzog pa sang gye nam pa nang dze oe kyi gyal po la chag tsel lo (3x)
jang chub sem pa sem pa chen po kun tu zang po la chag tsel lo (3x)
om pentsa driwa awa boghi ne soha (7x)
om duru duru zaya mukhe soha (7x)
Final Dedication Prayers
May all the important pure wishes be completed due to the blessings of the eminent
Victors and their Children (Buddhas and Bodhisattvas), due to the truth that
dependent-arising is unbetrayed, and due to the power of my pure spiritual attitude.
May myself, family and all sentient beings in all lifetimes due to Lama Tsong
Khapa being the direct guru, never be separated away, even for a second, from
the pure complete path admired by the Victorious Ones.
Due to the merits of myself and others, may the victorious teachings of Losang
Dragpa flourish for a long time. May all the centers and projects of the FPMT
receive all the necessary conditions to preserve and spread the teachings of
Lama Tsong Khapa immediately. May all obstacles be pacified, may the general
organization and the individual meditation centers, all the activities to preserve
and spread the Dharma, particularly Lama Tsong Khapa's teachings, cause the
teachings to continue without degeneration and spread in the minds of all sentient
beings. May all the necessary conditions be received immediately, without any
obstacle, and the members who have sacrificed their life to benefit others throughout
the organization have a long life, be healthy, may all their activities please
the virtuous friend and in all their lives may they always be guided by a perfectly
qualified Mahayana virtuous friend and all their wishes immediately succeed
according to the Dharma.